Below the Horizon
by Pugz
Summary: Set six months after BBT. Jaden's returned to Venice where he's drawn to a mysterious woman in search of Quetzalcoatl; the next thing he knows, he's in Neo Domino. Starshipping. JadenxYusei.
1. Chapter 1

Ah, a new pairing :D I've stumbled upon Starshipping recently and wanted to try it. I've never really watched GX, so if anyone is too OOC I apologise.

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><p>Below the Horizon<p>

The duel-brown mop of hair whipped in front of equally brown eyes as their owner starred across at the leaning tower. Jaden pulled his dark coat, which was over his old Slifer jacket, tighter around himself and shivered.

"I'm a long way from home...," he muttered, thinking of the Academy. Sure, he'd be huddled under ten thin blankets in the dorm, but it was something, right?

"You should have checked into a bed and breakfast when we got here," Yubel scolded. "But you had to sight-see first."

"Don't scold him, Yubel," Banner pleaded, appearing next to the Duel Monster. "He was interrupted by Paradox last time, can you blame him?"

Jaden petted Pharaoh with a sigh as the two spirits bickered behind him; it had been six months since the duel with Paradox; he had left Venice for a while and had returned on his way to visit the Academy. His gaze drifted to a figure stood by an alleyway in the fading light. Her long, dark blue hair masked one side of her face and her black dress hugged her curvy figure; a dim glow seemed to surround her and the energy in the air caught Yubel's attention.

Banner followed the pair's gaze and adjusted his glasses. "You don't see that everyday."

Jaden stood slowly and Yubel reached out to stop him. "Jaden, no!"

He shrugged her off and found himself moving on his own; his feet moved without his permission and he mentally screamed at them to stop. One foot move in front of the other and the woman turned, revealing a dark yellow snake eye; she ran a hand through his hair and pulled him close to sniff it.

"Quetzalcoatl," she purred. "You're not the bearer, but his stench lingers on you."

'_Quetza-what?__'_ Jaden felt numb, all he could do was stare at the woman as she gently caressed his hair.

"Don't touch him!" Yubel bellowed and the woman lifted her head with a tight smile at her before meeting Jaden's eyes.

"Show me where Quetzalcoatl hides!"

An image of an Aztec Dragon flashed into his mind and he matched it instantly to the Crimson Dragon, who had guided him and Yusei through time to Yugi; it had been a strange experience and one he'd never forget.

"Jaden!" Yubel cried with worry. She did not dare to attack the strange woman in case she used Jaden as a shield.

"The future?" Her head tilted to the side and she caressed his cheek. "Not a problem. Lead me to this 'Yusei'."

As the sun disappeared, the light around the woman grew, engulfing them both in bright blue. The Slifer Duellist had to close his eyes to protect them, and when he opened them again, he found himself standing in the middle of a road and another light rushing towards him; a sound of an engine came with the light and it swerved suddenly to avoid him, skidding sideways and stopping just a few feet away.

"Dude, what the hell are you doing just _standing_there!"

Brown eyes blinked and he slowly turned to the voice. "Huh?"

"'Huh'? Are you stupid!"

"Are you alright, Jaden?" Yubel appeared at his side. "Did she hurt you?"

Disorientation still clouded his mind and he shook his head to shift it. "I think...I'm ok..."

The stranger sighed and rested the huge motorcycle on the kickstand. "That's good." He made his way over to the Slifer Duellist and removed his helmet to reveal orange spiked hair. "But what the – is that a cat on your back?"

"Mrow." Pharaoh clung tightly to the back of Jaden's coat. He slowly slid down and landed gracefully on the road to rub up against the rider.

Grey eyes blinked at the cat and he looked back up to Jaden. "Anyway, why are you in the road?"

"Dunno," Jaden replied flatly. He had no clue how he got there. He rubbed his head. "I...My head hurts...Where am I?"

Yubel and Banner exchanged glances but decided to stay quiet. The stranger patted him on the shoulder. "Hey, I'll give you a ride to my place. I'm Crow Hogan by the way."

"Jaden Yuki." He managed a grin.

Crow led Jaden to his motorcycle and pulled a spare helmet from under the seat; Jaden caught the helmet and stared at the bike, it seemed familiar somehow, but he couldn't see it in the dim light. He put Pharaoh in his bag and climbed on behind Crow, placing his hands on the rider's shoulders; once the motorcycle started, Jaden could see the duel disk mounted on it.

"Is this a D-Wheeler?"

Crow knocked the kickstand and the motorcycle jumped forward. "Sure is. Never seen one before?"

"Yeah..." Jaden trailed off, confusion washing over him again. "Once..."

Xxx

Jack Atlas sat on the old green sofa with his arms draped across the back. Across the garage, Yusei tapped away on the computer; it was the only sound in the room.

"Crow's late," Jack announced, but the other Duellist didn't reply. "Did you hear me? I said Crow's late."

"I heard you, Jack." The Duel King turned in his chair. "He's fine; if he wasn't our marks would tell us."

Jack opened his mouth to retort when the roar of an engine cut him off; Crow eased his D-Wheeler down the small ramp and the former King leapt to his feet. "You're late!"

"Yeah well, unlike you, Mr. Pompous Ass, I have a job!" Crow snapped and eased the bike onto the kickstand.

The blonde was going to retort again when he spotted Jaden. "Who's he?"

Yusei, having turned back to the computer, looked up from the screen as the new arrival hopped off the bike and removed the helmet. His eyes widened. "Jaden?" The Slifer turned his head and Yusei rose to his feet. "What are you doing here!"

"Wait." Crow looked between them. "You two know each other?"

"I met Jaden in the past," Yusei explained and stepped up to the smaller boy. "We duelled alongside Yugi Moto and defeated Paradox together." He tilted the duellist head up gently with his finger under his chin. "Jaden?"

Eyelids drooped over brown orbs and the Slifer's legs gave out under him; Yusei caught him and eased them both to the floor. "Jaden!"

"Mrow!" Pharaoh yelped when the bag hit the floor and wriggled free. Professor Banner rubbed his chin in thought.

"What did that strange woman do to him?"

Yubel sneered. "Whatever it was, it's drained him." She watched Yusei and Crow fuss over the small Duellist.

"He did say his head hurt...," Crow mused. "I'll give you a hand Yusei." He threw one of Jaden's arms over his shoulder and Yusei took the other, grabbing the bag with his free hand. "Make yourself useful, Jack, open Yusei's bedroom door for us."

The former King snorted but did as asked; striding ahead and tapping his foot impatiently. "So, that kid duelled with you?" he asked once the pair had caught up with him. "What's he doing here?"

"That's what I'd like to know..." He, with Crow's help, eased the larger coat off Jaden and petted Pharaoh when he leapt onto the bed. "Yubel?"

She appeared before them, causing Jack and Crow to jump. "Yes?"

"Did you see what happened?"

A deep frown etched her face and she clenched her fists. "Jaden had returned to Venice, complaining he didn't get to see the sights before Paradox attacked; the hotels and other places were all booked and he was trying to think of a place to go. He saw a strange woman and approached her – I...I couldn't do anything..."

"She mentioned a Dragon," Banner added.

Crow leapt back so far his back hit the wall. "What the hell!"

Banner smiled and waved. "Hello."

"What Dragon?" Yusei asked.

"I couldn't quite hear her, poor Pharaoh didn't want to get any closer until the light surrounded Jaden." He looked to the Duel Monster. "Did you?"

She crossed her arms and turned her head. "I can't pronounce it..."

"Oh dear..." He rubbed his chin again. "And poor Jaden can't seem to remember anything..."

"How can you be so casual about their appearance, Yusei!" Jack bellowed.

Yusei looked between the spirits and Jack. "Well..."

"We've met before," Yubel answered for him and scowled at the former King. "And if you wake Jaden I'll make you regret it!"

"Hmph!" Jack stormed out of the room and Crow chuckled.

"I'll go make sure His Grumpiness calms down before he thinks about coming back to challenge her." He grinned and followed the former King.

Yusei watched him leave and his gaze fell back to the Slifer. Their timelines were decades apart, and the Crimson Dragon was the only being he knew of that could travel through time; how was Jaden with them? "You'll watch over him tonight?"

Yubel almost felt insulted. "Of course."

The Duel King nodded and pulled the thin sheet over Jaden; he made his way to the door, looked back once and closed it behind him.


	2. Chapter 2

Back! Sorry this took sooo long; I've head mega writers block, so apologies for this chapter.

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><p>Jaden nuzzled the pillow in his sleep. The cover had been kicked off during the night and his hair stuck up in all directions. Yubel smiled and Pharaoh scratched at the door to get someone's attention; Yusei opened the door and the cat shot past him.<p>

"I see he slept well."

"He always does."

The Duel King gazed around and looked back to Yubel. "Banner?"

"He has to follow Pharaoh." She smirked and reached down to gently shake the Slifer boy. "Jaden, it's time to wake up."

The boy groaned, yawned and rolled onto his back. Yusei chuckled. "Crow's making breakfast."

Jaden shot upright. "Breakfast?" He blinked the sleep from his eyes and turned his head, jaw slackening at the sight before him. "YUSEI!" He leapt off the bed. Yusei's back hit the wall and the Slifer Duellist hung from his neck; he was used to being jumped on by Rua, but Jaden was a little...heavier.

"I'm glad you're ok." He gently pulled Jaden's arms from him. "You had me worried when you collapsed."

Chocolate brown eyes blinked up at him. "Well...I don't really remember much..." He stepped back and his brow furrowed.

Yusei placed his hand on Jaden's shoulder. "It'll come back to you. Now let's get some breakfast."

A grin leapt to Jaden's face and the smaller boy followed Yusei to the kitchen. Jack's feet were propped up on the table and Crow stood by the stove while growling at Jack to put his feet down. "Morning!" Jaden greeted.

Crow smiled back. "Morning, pal. Sleep well?"

"Sure did. I heard there was breakfast."

"Bacon and eggs!" Crow grinned and dished out Yusei's and Jaden's share. "Jack doesn't get any because he's an egoistical prick."

Jack slammed his fist onto the table. "You can't do that!"

"Then put your damn feet down! We don't need sweaty boot foot smell at the table!"

Jack complied while grumbling about his feet _not_ smelling and Jaden chuckled around a mouthful of eggs; the former King shot him a glare. Yusei sighed. "Jack, he's a guest..."

"No guest of mine!" he grunted.

Jaden swallowed and leaned over to Yusei. "He doesn't like me much, does he?" he whispered and Yusei gave him a soft smile.

"Jack's difficult at first, but he's not a bad person." He felt a heated glare on him and sighed again. "You know what I mean, Jack."

Jack slammed his hand down on the table as he stood and marched out of the kitchen; three pairs of eyes watched him go and Crow frowned. "Guess he doesn't want breakfast then."

"I'll have his!" Jaden threw his hand into the air with a wide grin and then looked to Yusei. "That's ok, right?"

A small smile graced his lips. "Sure, if you're that hungry."

Jaden grinned again when Crow dished out another helping and stuffed three slices of bacon into his mouth at once. Crow did the same, but only managed two. "I'm to'lly la'e fo' wo'k," he managed without choking and waved over his shoulder. "Mye!"

The Slifer swallowed quickly. "Bye, thanks for breakfast!" he called after him and looked down as Pharaoh pawed at his leg. "Hungry too, buddy?" He teased the feline briefly with a slice of bacon and then dropped it to the floor.

Yusei watched the whole thing with his chin in his hand; he was surprised how calm the boy was despite being in a different timeline and a long way from home. "Jaden, what do you remember?"

Brown eyes rose to the ceiling as he thought back. "Umm, I think...I remember a woman...with long hair." He rubbed his cheek with the back of his hand. "Soft hands too; but I don't recall what she said to me, sorry." He suddenly grinned. "What are you doing today? Could we duel? I'd love to face Stardust Dragon!"

The sudden change of subject caught Yusei off guard. "I'm making adjustments to my D-Wheeler today; however, we can duel a bit later."

"Your bike? Can I help in anyway?"

The Duel King thought about it for a minute; he would need someone to rev the engine while he watched the data on the computer. He nodded. "I think I have a job you can manage."

The rest of the breakfast was gone in one, huge gulp and Jaden leapt to his feet. "Alright! The sooner we get to it, the sooner we get to duel!"

Xxx

After a really long explanation of what Yusei was testing, which the Slifer didn't quite understand, Jaden found himself sat on the bike and tried to listen carefully to what Yusei was telling him.

"This is your gearshift and this here is the throttle; twist it gently and run up the gears when I give you the signal."

Jaden wiggled his foot on the gearshift and nodded. "But...er...the bike won't move, right?"

"It won't," he promised and started the engine. Jaden gave the throttle a gentle twists and the bike roared.

"This is cool!" His eyes danced over the screen. Most of the things he could see were obvious to him; but what were the pebble shaped things? "Yusei, what does this bit do?"

The dark haired boy craned his neck from his position on the floor to look then concentrated on the screen again. "It's for speed counters."

"Speed counters?" He stared at the shapes and poked one with his finger, leaving a fingerprint in the centre; his nose scrunched up. "How does it-?"

"Could you put it in first for me?"

"Oh, sure!" He nudged the lever with his foot.

"That looks good, now second."

A simple test like that shouldn't have taken them into the lunch hour, at least that's what Jaden thought; but between the repetitive tests and Yusei's adjustments, it wasn't until Aki and the Twins arrived did the Duel King realise the time.

"Yusei!" Rua rushed over to him and knelt down to see what he was doing. "What are you doing? Looks complicated."

"Then don't distract him," Ruka warned.

"Krreee!"

The blue haired girl turned her head to Kuribon with a questioning look and the ball of fur gestured to Jaden slumped over the dash of the bike, dosing as Winged Kuriboh floated above his head. "Winged Kuriboh?"

"What was that, Ruka?" Aki asked with a smile and the smaller girl shook her head. The psychic duellist glanced at Jaden. "Who's your friend, Yusei?"

Blue eyes looked from the screen, to Aki and then to Jaden. "Jaden. I've told you about him, remember?"

"The guy who duelled with you and Yugi!" Rua yelled and Ruka covered his mouth.

"Shh!"

"What's he doing in this time?" Aki asked and Yusei slowly rose to his feet.

"It's complicated," he told her and placed his hand on Jaden's shoulder. "Jaden, how about lunch?"

One brown eye opened and the Slifer sat up with a yawn. "Sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep on you..." he blinked when he saw the two Kuriboh's together. "Hey buddy, who's your girlfriend?" If the brown puffball could change colour, it would have turned red from wingtip to toe; instead, it just screeched at the human. "Ok, I'm sorry! I was only messing, geez," he chuckled.

"You...see them?" Ruka asked and Jaden snapped his attention to her.

"Oh, hi. Yeah, I can see them; ain't it neat?" He grinned. "I'm Jaden."

"Ruka." She blushed.

"I'm Rua; so you have the same power as my sister, huh?" The elder Twin leapt up to him. "That's cool; I can't see them, so I'm glad someone else does, it'll make Ruka feel better about it." His grin matched Jaden's.

"This is Aki," Yusei announced. "The three of them attend Duel Academy together."

Brown orbs lit up. "You still have Duel Academy in the future! That's awesome!"

Aki smiled. "He's energetic," she chuckled.

Yubel appeared behind Jaden and Ruka leapt behind her Brother with a squeak. "The loud one reminds me of you, Jaden."

"You think?" He looked up at her and then back at the Twins, smiling at Ruka. "Don't mind Yubel, she only looks scary."

"Mrow." Pharaoh brushed between the Twins.

"And that's Pharaoh and Professor Banner," Jaden introduced them and watched Yusei pick his jacket up from the floor; he reached out and grabbed the marked arm, staring at it intently.

"Jaden?" Yusei watched him carefully. "You've seen the mark before – I showed it to you."

Jaden remembered Yusei showing him the mark; but there was something about it...something...He felt a twinge of pain in his head and released Yusei's arm. "You mentioned lunch?" He grinned.


	3. Apologies

I feel really bad.

I keep getting reviews and PM's on odd occasions asking where the next part is, or when will I be updating; the truth is...I'm not sure. I started a project a while ago with a friend and we're trying to set up a business; the manga we're doing is taking up all my time because I'm either scripting chapters, writing the mini novel (or proof reading it) and I'm currently giving the rough manga pages a do over with a new drawing programme.

I want to be a published author, fan fiction is great, but I love working with my own characters.

And, to be honest, I got this really messed up review that threw me; they were basically telling me how to write my story despite it being only two chapters so far. It pissed me off and then I was a little put off of writing it; which is a shame, because I had some really good ideas for it too - unlike the bull they suggested.

Seriously, I kept it, go read it under the reviews tab.

Why keep it? I keep everything, I horde all your faves, likes, follows, reviews and PM's because I love them; it gives me a real confidence boost to know I've really improved (cause my old stuff is terrible!) and the courage to get my own stuff published.

Anyway. I am **BEYOND **sorry for not updating (and for making you think this is an update), you've all been so great to me and I hope to actually come back to this some day :)


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